Flamingos invade Vallejo yards in the name of charity, thanks to Active 20-30 Club

CHRIS RILEY —VALLEJO TIMES-HERALD
Derrick Karimian with The Vallejo Active 20-30 club migrates a flock of flamingos from a front yard in Vallejo. People can give to charity by paying to have the flamingos flock an unsuspecting homeowner’s front yard for 48 hours.

Flamingos are migrating farther north than usual, and you have Vallejo’s Active 20-30 club to thank — or blame.

This month, Vallejo yards are being invaded by pink plastic flamingos in groups of 12, 20 or 30 birds at a time. They appear overnight and take over a yard for 48 hours before flying off to another house.

For a fee, anyone can choose the next Vallejo location of the flock and surprise friends and family. “Flamingo Flocking” (as the Active 20-30 club calls it) is a fun event the local group does to raise money for their children’s shopping spree, which happens every August. That’s when the group treats Vallejo children in need to back-to-school shopping for clothing and school supplies.

Hearing about Flamingo Flocking through friends on Facebook, Vallejo resident Tina Fowler purchased a super-sized flock of 30 flamingos for her goddaughter’s birthday, which in turn supports the Active 20-30 Club.

“This is a fun thing to do,” Fowler said. “I like that the Active 20-30 does a lot of outreach to young people in Vallejo and tries to get them involved. (Flamingo Flocking) is a way to support the kids in the community and what the club does.”

Active 20-30 club board member Derrick Karimian is the chair for this event, which takes place every November and March. He’s also one of the group members you may or may not see in your yard helping with the “migration” of the flamingos.

“The funniest part is when I hear the homeowners quieting their dogs while I’m out here with the flamingos,” Karimian said, laughing, holding flamingos in a Vallejo yard that was recently flocked. “They don’t realize the dogs are barking at me.”

Nestled among the flamingos, a sign proclaimed, “Congratulations. You’ve been flocked.” A box of flocking order forms are also included with the flamingos, in case a curious onlooker wants to order a flock of their own.

“(Homeowners) are pleasantly shocked and a lot of the times, the person who is flocked is the next to flock others,” Karimian said. “All flockings are kept anonymous and we say (to homeowners), ‘Someone was thinking positively about you,’”

Three different sizes of flocks are available for purchase. However, the Super Size Flock includes a personalized note, digital photo of the house with its flamingos, as well as photos and video of the flocking in progress.

If interested, homeowners can also purchase “Anti-Flocking Insurance” for $10 to ensure that no flamingos will land on their yard.

When asked if she’d been a flocking victim, Fowler replied, “No, I have not been flocked yet. I told Derrick I’m interested in purchasing the insurance, though.”

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For more information on Flamingo Flocking and the Active 20-30 Club, visit www.vallejo2030.com or email active2030vallejo@gmail.com.